Thousands of Washington state workers staged a walkout Monday, protesting what they call inadequate pay raises offered by Gov. Bob Ferguson in ongoing union contract talks.

Members of the Washington Federation of State Employees are walking out from more than 100 work sites to demand “a fair contract,” the union said in a news release.

They’re calling attention to what they say are unsustainable workloads for high-stakes jobs such as protecting vulnerable children and caring for people with disabilities.

WFSE President Mike Yestramski pointed to the state’s skyrocketing lawsuit payout costs — which set a record of $614 million over the past year, mostly for cases of child abuse and neglect — saying it’s foolish to shortchange public employees who work in child welfare agencies.

“They would rather spend money in the courts after another avoidable tragedy than proactively invest in their workforce. We think the public deserves to know that,” Yestramski said in a statement.

WFSE represents more than 50,000 state and other public-sector employees.

At the University of Washington, about 100 people gathered in Red Square to take part in the walkout starting at 11 a.m.

Natalie Brown, a UW library technician, hoisted a sign reading, “A fair contract means stability in unstable times.”

Higher pay — consistent with inflation, at the very least — rang out as their central demand as workers scribbled their definitions of a fair contract onto picket signs and testified about their hardships.

Brown, the 26-year-old library technician, lives with friends in Kirkland and sometimes has to rely on the roommates who earn higher pay to cover costs of food and groceries. “You feel guilty about it,” Brown said. “There’s a sense of pride that’s lost.”

Getting a “zero percent raise” in contract negotiations is “insulting,” Brown said. “We are not safe. We don’t feel safe or stable. It’s scary out there.”

Tom Morse, 75, grabbed a black picket sign from organizers passing them out in the crowd. His white button-up shirt and pants were splattered with paint.

The painter, who has been working for the university’s facilities and construction department for 30 years, said he’s supplemented his pay with Social Security payments he started earning at 66 years old.

Before he qualified for the benefits, Morse said he was “just hanging on,” so he understands the hardship his colleagues are facing without another form of income to rely on.

Asked for comment on the walkouts, Brionna Aho, a spokesperson for Ferguson, said in an email that the governor “appreciates and respects our state workers,” but noted the state faces real budget problems.

“Collective bargaining in times of budget crisis will always be very challenging,” Aho said, citing “billions of dollars in budget reductions” the state has implemented, as well as “draconian cuts” from the Trump administration, “including the elimination of healthcare coverage for thousands of Washingtonians.”

As he develops a budget proposal, Aho said Ferguson “is focused on preserving core services for the most vulnerable people in our state. In working to accomplish that goal, the governor will face many difficult choices, and understands not everyone will be happy with his decisions.”

The union announced the walkout plans last month, saying Ferguson’s administration was taking a hard line on pay, and slow-walking even simple union proposals.

Details of the gap in labor talks between Ferguson and the union are not publicly known because the negotiations are being held in closed-door and confidential sessions.

But union leaders have expressed mounting frustration in recent months. Yestramski said he told the governor’s team at the bargaining table last week he’d “personally never felt this frustrated and disrespected.”

The tension between the union and the Ferguson administration land amid a backdrop of projected budget shortfalls. Despite Ferguson and the Legislature approving billions of dollars in new and higher taxes, spending is expected to outstrip revenues over the next couple years.

Meanwhile, even the new high-earners income tax — or “millionaires tax” — won’t bail out the state in the near term as it won’t start bringing an estimated $3 billion or more a year until 2029. The tax also faces a public vote in November, and a legal challenge.

Ferguson in June ordered agencies to prepare “significant cuts” before his 2027-29 budget proposal, which is due out in December.

Like workers everywhere, state employees are struggling with higher costs for everything from groceries to gas. The Seattle-area Consumer Price Index rose 4.5% in the year ending in June, according to federal data.

The walkouts are not a strike. Workers participating were instructed to use scheduled breaks or take available vacation time, according to the WFSE messages to members.

The midday demonstrations took place across the state, including at several state offices in Olympia, the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Western State Hospital in Lakewood and Fircrest School in Shoreline.

Such demonstrations are not unusual when unions and management are at odds. The state employee union has a similar, partial-day walkout during its last round of negotiations in 2024.

In their last contract covering 2025-27, state workers represented by WFSE got cost-of-living raises of 5% over two years, along with targeted job classification raises and other benefits.

Seattle Times staff reporter Kai Uyehara contributed to this report.